Celebrating Sikhism

Majority of the films centered around Sikhism or the celebration of the community are either to do with religious sacrifices, the music and dance or the ’84 genocide, or so one would think. The premiere edition of Sikhlens, the annual Sikh Arts and Film Festival, California, comes to Chandigarh with as many as 17 Sikhism-centric short films and documentaries from around the world. Thereby proving to be a platform for sharing Sikh heritage and culture with the rest of the world by creating awareness of work that is ‘Sikh-centric’, showcasing Sikh talent, and instilling pride in the Sikh community.

Held in association with the Department of Cultural Affairs, Chandigarh Administration, the day-long festival packs in performances, exhibition and interactions. “The Sikhs currently have minimal or no representation in the global mainstream, digital media or journalism and it is their mission to change that,” Bicky Singh, founder, Sikhlens Foundation, fills in the initial blanks. Joining him is Ojaswwee Sharma, award-winning director and India head, Sikhlens, “We seek work from artists in a variety of fields, including, but not limited to, films, art, music, and books. It creates appropriate avenues for this work to be shared with the rest of the world with the aim of getting more exposure for the presenters, and at the same time creating awareness about Sikhs.” Sikhlens has been embedded in the Dodge College of Film and Media Arts for the last seven years.

What all it packs

n The first film session features five films starting with the opening film Benediction (India/52minute), The Lions of London (UK/ 14mins), I Run While Talking to God (Fauja Singh)—(UK/19mins), Shades of Indigo (US/ 20mins), Growing life (Australia/11mins).

n No celebration of any art form is complete, without the artists from different walks of life coming together. The Artist segment features works by the multiple award winning photographer Vinod Chauhan, whose work on the Gurdwaras of Punjab, titled Charan Chhoh, will take the viewers on the journey of Shri Guru Nanak Dev ji in Punjab. Moving on Aman Singh Gulati, world’s first Almond Artist, and a Guinness World Record Holder, for making portraits and paintings on almonds will showcase his series on Baba Nanak and his teachings titled Soul of Sikhism Volume-1. Hardeep Singh’s handwritten Gurbani calligraphy will be a visual treat for calligraphy lovers. Other participants in the festival include acclaimed author Lily Swarn and Devinder Pal Singh, Limca book of world record holder for world’s smallest kite that passed through a pin.

n While the second film session features as many as seven films namely, Sikh Formaggio (Italy/22 minutes), Ride with Pride (Australia/15 minutes), Rooh (India/11 minutes), Red, White and Beard (US/20 minutes), Pagg (US/18 minutes) and Style With Kaur (Australia/ 14mins). The day long sessions are interspersed with performances by Minto Singh, a TV presenter and a stand-up comedy artist and Amy Singh, a TEDx speaker and a spoken word poet who uses poetry as her medium of storytelling, activism, protest and even philanthropy to promote a positive change in society. She runs a street poetry initiative called Cross Connection Poetries, to bring poems out into public spaces and everyday life.

While the last and the third film sessions features the multiple award winning film Zubaan (India/25 mins), She Who Questions (Scotland/14 minutes), The Singh Twins (UK/20 minutes), Scars: After 100 years of Jallianwala Bagh (India/32 minutes), and Chaurassi—1984 (India/20 minutes). —TNS

To take place on

February 21 at Tagore Theatre—18, Chandigarh.

Join Whatsapp Channel of The Tribune for latest updates.